Vietnamese agricultural developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agricultural (HAGL Agrico) is to sell off its subsidiary Indochina Rubber to Thadi Agriculture. Indochina Rubber processes rubber products and is involved in local afforestation and forest conservation efforts, construction and trading industrial machinery/goods.
The transfer comes following Vietnam’s rising rubber prices, which hit an eight-month peak at US$2.20 per kg, up 27% from the beginning of 2019. These were in line with rising oil prices early in the year and unfavorable weather conditions affecting rubber production and storage, mainly the tropical storms in Thailand, drought in Yunnan,China, and unforeseen wintering in some Southeast Asian producers.
HAGL Agrico maintains rubber plantations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to significant yields – Indochina Rubber reported a charter capital of US$63.8 million in late 2018. Their Laos plantation also has a joint latex processing factory with a capacity of 25,000 metric tonnes per year. Meanwhile, Thadi is a business arm of Truong Hai Auto (Thaco) which specialises in research and development of related materials and processing equipment.